BUFFALO, N.Y. — With 3.8 seconds left and No. 11-seed Dayton trailing No. 6-seed Ohio State by one in Thursday’s second-round NCAA Tournament game, Vee Sanford started off March Madness with a bang.

The guard sliced into the lane and banked in a runner to give the Flyers (24-10, 10-6 Atlantic 10) a 60-59 win at First Niagara Center. Aaron Craft’s attempted answer missed and Dayton held on for the first upset of the Tournament.

“He’s the guy that can get that shot,” UD head coach Archie Miller said. “He’s the guy that can get the shot up. He’s been in that situation a lot for us. Most people have watched us play and have seen him come down that right lane line probably 20 times this season and banked that banker right off the glass.”

Sanford’s shot denies No. 3-seed Syracuse an opportunity to exact revenge on the Buckeyes for bouncing the Orange (28-5, 14-4 Atlantic Coast) in the Elite Eight of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, but opened up an easier path to the second weekend. SU won’t have to deal with Craft, Shannon Scott and LaQuinton Ross on Saturday at approximately 7:10 p.m., but rather Dayton’s Sanford, Devin Oliver and Matt Kavanaugh.

Syracuse nearly played the Flyers way back in November at the EA Sports Maui Invitational, but UD lost to Baylor by one point in the event’s other semifinal game.

“I thought we were going to play them,” Jim Boeheim said. “They lost a very close game. I thought that we would play them in Hawaii.

“I thought they were really the second best team out there.”

The SU head coach praised the Flyers’ balance — something that was on display Thursday. Three UD players scored in double figures, and Dayton still shot 50 percent from the field in the first half.

Sanford was one of the three, as were Oliver and forward Dyshawn Pierre.

OSU’s defense is tough, but the Orange’s zone is a different animal. Miller knew his opponent early, so it was off to work as soon as he did.

“I’m assuming we’re going to have another one that’s going to be very, very similar in a couple of days,” he said. “So we’re going to prepare.

“This is the greatest thing in the world when you win the 12:00 noon game because you’ve got a lot of ball, and you can sit and watch the replay a lot.”

Published on March 20, 2014 at 11:00 pm

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2